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Lee Turret press questions

PD Gohil

PD Gohil

Ready to buy a turret press. Lee seems like the go to with a ton of happy reloaders....
I plan to do load 38 special, 44 mag(2 different loads), 45 acp, 300 Blackout, and 223 plinking.
Plan to do the precision work from my co-ax as I've been doing.

Questions:
Is it worth getting the whole kit? Most stuff in there i don't think I'll use..
Auto drum accurate enough? -+.1gr? Better options?
Primer system ok on this press? I generally hand prime, but the whole purpose of the turret press is faster volume loading.

Missing anything?


Thanks and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!

PGohil
WV
 
Lee's require you to "tinker" with them as you go along. If you don't mind doing this a Lee will do the job.

I used the disk powder through with no problems.
I managed 100 an hr when i was loading pistol.
I never loaded rifle rounds.
There is play in the die holder so if .003 is a problem then you won't be satisfied.

I think there are better turret presses out there. But no matter what you get it's fun to use.
 
DirtySteve said:
Anything but Lee. I would say get a Dillon 550.
Click to expand...
Or a Dillon 750.......or /|\ ;-)

ICYDK, this will be great for pistol ammo. This will be great for plinking or hunting ammo. Personally, I would not count on a progressive press for making short range or long range competition ammo where 1/100th or 1/1,000th of an inch counts.
 
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I've used the Lee 4 Hole Turret for thousands of rounds. Both pistol and rifle.

Does it have it's drawbacks? Yes.
But it's entirely unfair to compare it to something like a Prazi Press, or even a progressive.
It's not either of those.

Depending upon how much pistol and 223 you shoot, a progressive may suit you better.

If you already have a scale, camfer/deburr tool, and such i wouldn't bother getting the whole kit.

I'm using the auto disk measure.
If you load 9mm, or 45 ACP, the adjustable disk is well worth the money.

The included primer seater with the press hasn't given me any issues.
Spent primers do need some creative solutions though.
 
My main go to press is a Lee 4 holer however I do not use it as a progressive these days. In the past I did load thousands of pistol rounds using it as a progressive.

I never cared for the priming system so I bought a RCBS hand primer early on. The powder measure is fine, it will handle stick powder better than the metal drum units becasue the plastic will not cut the kernels. It can be a pain to reset however but at the price just buy a couple of extras and set on for each cartridge. Same with turrets buy one for each cartridge, set em and forget them. I have nine or ten turrets all set up now, it makes changing to a different cartridge a ten second operation. I would not buy the kit myself, instead use the money for extra turrets or powder throws

I use mine for my precision work as well, both benchrest and long range F class. The only time I pull my Rock Crusher out is when I am doing some heavy case work like forming 7.62 x 39 into Grendel or 6 ARC. The Lee is not meant for heavy duty stuff like that. I promise the play in the turret will be less than the play in any shell holder on the market. Everyone sweats the play in the ram and the turret, they forget that the cartridge sets in a shell holder that has play in the tenths of a inch. Or in the example of a co-ax a die in a die holder that has play in the tenths of a inch
 
I have the Lee classic cast turret and have loaded everything on it. I don't prime on the press - I use a separate single stage press with a ram prime set up on it. I also don't charge on the press - I charge off the press using a variety of measures depending on what I am loading.

Note also that I have a Dillon 550 for high volume pistol round loading. Short runs of pistol get done on the turret press.

I have die sets, in turrets, for every cartridge I load.

turret rack.jpg
 
jcm800 said:
How does it work with flake powder....universal, unique?
Click to expand...
Unique sucked for me.
Universal & tight group is great.
Btw i still have all my pistol stuff. Id put my lee back up and go for it in a heartbeat.

I got a rcbs hand primer. That was one step that could be done in front of the tv.

The clear square powder thing leaks badly. The red round one didn't.
 
I use the Lee classic turret for pistol since I load several calibers. I leave the turrets set up with Auto-drum measures and I keep large and small primer tools filled. So changing calibers takes less than a minute.
I don't load large volumes at a sitting, maybe 200 rounds, but I might load 3 calibers, so the turret is perfect for my needs. I did have to play with the primer feed alignment at first, but it runs perfectly now.
The coarsest powder I've run is 231 (it's not as coarse as Unique or 700) and it flows without a hitch, so I can't report on coarser powders.
I just bought the press, then turrets, primer tools and powder measures since I had scales, dies and everything else.
I do run some rifle on it, but I prime and drop powder off the press. I've loaded several seasons of prairie dog medicine on it and the dogs have not complained about the accuracy of said loads.
 

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Good sales on lee & hornady presses
 
PD Gohil said:
Dang it! I just bought the components I needed from the kid from Midway today. That's a really good deal!!
Click to expand...
I have found that calling or emailing the actual makers of any shooting products result in getting a lower price or a direction to a lower price.
I emailed Lee wanting parts and got the direction to the link i posted.
 
I load a ton. First progressive was the Lee three hole budget press, then went to the four hole cast iron classic, then decided to get serious and went with the blue 550… Most frustrating thing in my life. Especially the primer system, what a PITA to change from large to small. If you’re going to load 1000 at a time then Dillon is worth it. If you’re only loading a few hundred at a time, and changing calibers and primer sizes, get a Lee classic turret and don’t look back. For what it’s worth, only load Pistol and bulk rifle on the turret. All my bolt rifle stuff goes on the rock chucker single stage. Plus/-0.1 grain, either of Lee’s case actuator drops will work fine. Caveat being ball or flake powder. Your mileage may vary, IMHO, and all the other disclaimers. Between my wife and I I load thousands of rounds a year, we shoot a lot of Silhouette.
 
I am starting to experiment with my Turret press for .44 mag plinking loads.

(I only have a turret press but I've only really used the turret as a way of quickly changing chamberings).

My main thought is that if you will throw charges based on volume, try and get a nice ball powder. Tends to meter more consistently in my experience. (I bought some Unique to use with 240gr RNFP and slowly getting through it but in terms of how it throws, it is horrible for consistency.)

Please let us know how you get on!

Scrummy
 
I run the 4 hole classic for 9MM and 300 BO. Pure love/hate relationship. My wife makes me keep the door closed to my reloading room when I am running large quantities on it. Something about my granddaughters learning language inappropriate for ladies???
Seriously... in spite of the tinkering you WILL be doing, for the money, they are hard to beat. I use the Lee autodrum to throw my powder. It is actually pretty consistent. I run a bullet feeding die from Hornady that really makes things chug right along.
I was fortunate enough to buy one second hand on here and that rally helped the wallet.
 
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